Sensing the repulsion building ahead, Sigurd immediately bent his knees and sprang backward, trying to escape the range of Shinra Tensei.
But the repulsive force erupted too quickly, and its range was far greater than Sigurd had expected, leaving him little time to dodge.
Under the force of the blast, every rock and tree was swept away, leaving nothing but bare ground.
Even though Sigurd avoided the attack head-on, he was still caught by the shockwave and sent flying a great distance.
The attack had caused such destruction with a single strike that it looked terrifying, but in reality, it was nothing extraordinary.
Shinra Tensei was useful for clearing out weaklings, but it was somewhat inadequate against Kage Level opponents.
Although Sigurd's strength currently amounted to no more than that of an elite jonin, his defenses were formidable. Judging by defense alone, he was undoubtedly at Kage Level.
Unless it was a point-blank Super Shinra Tensei, it would be very difficult for Shinra Tensei to hurt Sigurd as he was now.
The only things he feared now were Nagato's Planetary Devastation and the Black Receivers, which could disrupt the flow of energy within his body.
If he was struck by a Black Receiver, Sigurd didn't know exactly what would happen, but it was possible he would be disconnected from his Shadow Clone.
Even if he could reconnect quickly, that would give the enemy enough time to seal him away.
As for Planetary Devastation?
Nagato had come to recruit him, not to fight to the death, so he definitely wouldn't use Planetary Devastation. There was no need to worry about it.
Seeing Sigurd with virtually no injuries, Deva Path Pain curled his fingers and called out, "Banshō Ten'in!"
Before Sigurd could regain his footing, a terrifying force of attraction suddenly seized him, sending him hurtling uncontrollably toward Deva Path Pain.
Seeing that his opponent had already raised a Black Receiver, Sigurd's heart lurched. It was exactly what he'd feared.
As he flew through the air, Sigurd hurriedly tried to call the Magic Sword back to his hand, but his control over the weapon was no match for the other man's Banshō Ten'in.
So before the Magic Sword could reach him, the force of attraction pulled it away.
With the Magic Sword flying in front of him, Sigurd steeled himself. The thrusters beneath his feet ignited, and he rushed toward it, using the other man's pull to close the distance.
The moment his body and the Magic Sword lined up, Sigurd threw a punch, striking the sword's hilt.
"Magic Sword of the Sun, unleash destruction with your body—Bolverk Gram!"
Feeling the power emanating from the Magic Sword, Deva Path Pain hurriedly canceled Banshō Ten'in and immediately used Shinra Tensei to defend himself.
Rumble!
With a deafening explosion, Sigurd and the Magic Sword were both sent flying amid the flames.
Although Deva Path Pain had changed tactics quickly, he was still a fraction too slow. The sleeve on his arm had been burned away completely.
Looking at his arm, which was still steaming, Deva Path Pain's expression turned grave. He hadn't expected his opponent to be this powerful.
He looked toward Sigurd, who was struggling to his feet in the distance, and said arrogantly, "Have you seen it now? This is the power of a god, a power mere mortals can never hope to reach!"
Hearing this, Sigurd put on an injured expression and replied, "Attraction and repulsion—that's the power of those special eyes of yours?"
Deva Path Pain replied, "That's right. These are the eyes of a god, a realm you mortals can never set foot in!"
Hearing this, Sigurd dusted himself off and said, "Sigh, it seems a mere mortal like me can't do anything to you."
At Sigurd's words, Deva Path Pain held out his hand again and said, "In that case, will you join us, or be destroyed?"
With that, Sigurd flopped down onto the ground and waved a hand. "Since I can't beat you anyway, I'll obviously join. I'm not ready to die yet."
Seeing that Sigurd had agreed to join, Deva Path Pain immediately took out a ring and tossed it to him.
Taking the ring, Sigurd saw the character "朱" engraved on it.
He hadn't expected Nagato to have made these rings, which could be used to communicate, so early.
And the ring bearing "朱" seemed to be the one Uchiha Itachi wore in the original story. Had he taken Itachi's place?
Although the ring could also be used to monitor its wearer, Sigurd didn't hesitate to slip it onto his right thumb.
Once he saw Sigurd put the ring on, Deva Path Pain continued, "My name is Pain. From now on, you are a core member of the organization. Your codename is Suzaku."
"Byakko will assign you your duties. You can also use the ring to contact us about anything."
With that, Deva Path Pain turned and left.
The battle had injured Deva Path's right arm, and Nagato needed to retrieve it for repairs as soon as possible. After all, it was the body of his dear friend.
Only after Deva Path Pain had left did Konan flap her wings and slowly descend in front of Sigurd.
As soon as Konan landed, Sigurd teased her, "Miss Byakko, the leader just left you here all alone. Aren't you afraid I'll change my mind and turn against you?"
As he spoke, Sigurd recalled the flying swords scattered around them. It wasn't easy to absorb moonlight energy here, so every little bit counted.
Konan replied coldly, "Oh? Are you going to turn against us?"
It wasn't that Konan wasn't worried. The one in front of Sigurd was merely a Paper Clone; her real body had already left with Deva Path Pain.
Sigurd couldn't quite tell that the Konan in front of him was a Paper Clone. As a mechanical puppet, his ability to sense things had always been a weakness.
He had no way to scan chakra over a wide area and could only detect it at close range.
Sigurd shrugged noncommittally. "Now that I've joined you, I naturally won't betray you."
As if! He'd worked hard to join the Akatsuki. He wasn't going anywhere until he'd had his fill.
Besides, Nagato and Konan had been such tragic figures in the original Naruto story.
Especially when Konan died horribly at Obito's hands. Back when he watched the anime, it had made him grit his teeth in anger.
If he could, Sigurd wanted to see whether he could change Nagato's way of thinking.
After hearing Sigurd's words, Konan continued, "Let me make this clear: the organization will help you deal with your troubles, but if you betray us, we'll hunt you to the ends of the earth! Understood?"
Sigurd nodded with great seriousness on the outside, indicating that he understood, but inwardly he couldn't help grumbling.
The ends of the earth? Orochimaru had betrayed the organization, and in the end, everyone in the Akatsuki had died while he was still alive and well.
Though he grumbled inwardly, Sigurd still asked, "Then, Miss Byakko, do you have any assignments for me?"
Konan considered this for a moment, then said, "The organization is still in its early stages, so there's nothing we need you for yet. But I have a personal question to ask you."
Sigurd replied respectfully, "Oh? What might that be? It would be my honor to answer the questions of a beautiful lady like you."
Konan answered, "It's about Salamander Hanzō. You fought him this afternoon, right? What did you think of him?"
After thinking for a moment, Sigurd answered in a serious tone, "He's old. He no longer deserves the title of Demigod of the Ninja World!"
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